biostem

The more fundamental question here is whether we want to permit people to respond to posts without having to give an in-depth explanation or justification behind their reaction - if we are being charitable and assume everyone has good intentions, then we can assume that someone responding to you has given some thought about a post and reacted accordingly. OTOH, there's the notion that someone might downvote a post simply because they don't like the author. How do you reconcile a desire for free & open communication with minimizing toxicity? it's no easy task...

There was another CoH server that moved controller pets to be the first or second power. It greatly changes the dynamic of the sets, and eliminates and desire or requirement to "build up" to that point. I don't think the solution is simply shuffling powers, but perhaps look into something akin to alternate versions of existing sets - imagine a hypothetical "pyroclastic control" which is fire control, but with the order of the powers and their respective values changed around. Maybe you get imps much earlier, but they are weaker, while the single target hold comes much later but is devastatingly more powerful...

The ATs were added when they went free to play. As my time played can attest to, I like CoH much much more. I got bored of all the tank-mages that could self heal and self buff to the high heavens, while firing off top-tier attacks. Heck, even the pets they have there are boring compared to the few sets MMs here have, and the ones in CO span many different types.

It didn't start that way. When CO was subscription-only, everyone was freeform. It's also a vastly different animal, as you can only slot 1 "passive" ability at a time, which basically represents your entire armor set or focus. There are also no enhancements - you can rank up powers, and some have special effects you can unlock. There's also a sort of tiered role-tree, where you put points into it as you level - each tier represents a role, like melee damage or tanking. There also isn't really status protection in the same sense as CoH - if you get mezzed, you have to actively press button the controller or keyboard to break out, or use 1 of a select few powers that provide that specific effect. A large proportion of powers also have absolutely no cooldown at all, so as long as you have the energy, you can cast that top-tier attack over and over again without pause, 9save for the animation time). At the same time, many powers either require you to first charge them up to get max damage, or to actively maintain them, thereby locking you out of doing other things in the meantime. I got a lifetime sub back when the game was in beta, and I hardly touch it anymore - you basically cherry-pick a few "best" powers that work in all circumstances, then others for flavor. You have your "energy builder" that keeps you fueled, and everything else is just icing. Oh, and you can target yourself in CO, so buffs are very weak and/or very short-lived as a result...

And here I thought this was a thread about that classic horror/sci-fi movie with the giant ants...

You'd get the sentinel, but it's more of a Gradius option the plinks away besides you. Where's the 6th pet coming from? Epics? Incarnates could give you 2 more. Are you counting the decoy phantasm?

The thing is, what would make a set "magic"? Even pistols are simply a delivery method for your attack - they needn't be any more tech-based than a wand or stave. What I'm trying to wrap my head around is how a "magic blast" set would differ from, say, energy blast w/ some fist rune aura. What would differentiate it? I mean, if the OP just wanted a wand or staff blast set, I could get behind it, since it'd be more distinct and could incorporate new or different effects...

I would say that controllers and dominators have the widest disparity between your typical build and those at the highest end of performance. Not to belittle other ATs, but nearly anyone can pick one of them up and "get by", (of course specific exceptions do exist)...

Blame it on a portal accident... or a wizard did it!

Take a look at the upcoming sentinel changes, and consider that armor sets like bio or ninjitsu have ways of furthering your damage. Personally, I really like how radiation armor pairs with sentinel primaries, since you get additional recharge reduction and a perm-able absorb/+recover barrier, so you can keep attacking with reckless abandon...

Sonic assault seems like a natural for illusion, since the -res is a way to indirectly increase the damage your phantom army will do. Savage assault is great not just for the fitting attacks, but you also have a self heal and stacking end cost and recharge time reduction buffs.

I hear ya. In the case of a "Fire Farm", it really shouldn't matter if you pile on the fire attacks to get them to 100% XP, since theoretically, you should be using a character with maxed, (or nearly), fire resist. If you're speaking in general, I've found a combination of savage leap and either a throw knife or archery attacks makes for a good S/L enemy, but that's only in my experience...

I don't know to what extent you have tried creating your own farms in AE, but you can still get decent results. It's not like it was before, but it's still feasible...

Were you running someone else's farm, perhaps one not adjusted to account for the new changes? The game will change over time, and you either adapt or fall behind...

Funny you omitted my 2nd source. I'll ignore your personal attack...

I went by dictionary.com. Merriam-Webster also matches it.

That is merely 1 definition. It used to refer to charging *any* interest. Regardless, I agree, from a moral standpoint, that charging an exorbitant amount is wrong...

Umm... charging interest for lending money is NOT a crime, but you can take a landlord to court for upping the rent beyond some locally-decided-upon amount, and even then, there are numerous protection in place to protect tenants, which include outright stays on eviction, (all depending upon the area you live in, of course).

You should probably quote or tag me, then...

What you have written is essentially a bio for a character, with a very specific interpretation or explanation for how their magic works. You must think in terms of how to implement this within the context of the game's mechanics. For instance, if this character's magic is able to pierce defenses, then you'd want a -def effect. The game is far too long in the tooth to start introducing new damage types.

This got me thinking - we have a Medusa hairstyle and face, so now we need a flying disembodied Medusa head!

How would you implement "pure magic" in game? What damage type(s) would it deal? What secondary effect(s), if any, would it have/impose? Sell me on the idea...

What you are describing is the "HOW", not that "WHAT" - What I mean is that you are describing HOW someone might bring about an effect, not WHAT that effect is. Someone can conjure fire through magic, but so could a mutant, (only via their mutations instead of magic). Let me phrase it another way - what, within the game, would be the functional difference between a magic user's lightning bolt and one from some guy in a suit of Tesla power armor?

Why would +recharge make brutes worse?

So we have blast sets that drain end, some that apply -tohit, some that debuff defense, and so on. What I'm suggesting here is a set that can do some of that, but also empowers you at the same time. This set would have a special debuff, called "susceptible" - once you render a target susceptible to your attacks, you can now leech off of them, with different effects based upon the power in question... *Note - I don't have a specific look for the set locked in my mind, but I imagine you could use some of the kinetics powers animations, or perhaps some of the poison animations. 1. Enfeebling blast - Deals minor toxic damage and has a slight chance of applying the susceptible debuff. If striking a target affected by the debuff, it applies a minor -dmg debuff to them and a +dmg buff to you as well. 2. Exhausting blast - Deals moderate toxic damage, with a moderate chance to apply the susceptible debuff. If the target is already affected by the debuff, this power slows the target, has a tiny chance of immobilizing them and grants you a movement speed buff. 3. Enervating wave - Deals minor toxic damage in a cone in front of you. Has a small chance to afflict the targets with the susceptible debuff, if they don't already have it on them. Targets with the debuff on them suffer a -recharge effect, and grants you a minor +recharge buff for each target struck. 4. Parasitic Proliferation - Functions like an Aim power, with slightly lower values, but ups the chance of applying the susceptible debuff to 100% for a short while. 5. Virulent Pool - A targeted location AoE power that deals high toxic DoT. Has a chance of afflicting any targets that enter the AoE with the susceptible debuff. If a target is already afflicted with the debuff, they suffer a -res effect. Since this would most likely be a pseudo-pet, I'd have it apply a straight +res buff to you upon casting it. 6. Leeching blast: - Deals moderate toxic damage, with a moderate chance of applying the susceptible debuff, if the target isn't already affected by it. If they are, it applies a -regen debuff to them, and a +regen effect to you. 7. Paralytic blast - Deals high toxic damage with a high chance of applying the susceptible debuff, (if the target is not already affected by it). If the target is already susceptible, it holds them for a short while, and applies a brief degree of status effect resistance to you. 8. Wave of Lethargy - Deals moderate toxic damage in a cone in front of you, with a minor chance of making the targets susceptible, (if not already affected by it). Any target that is so-afflicted suffers a -end effect, and you gain end for each such susceptible target struck. 9. Embodiment of Parasitism - A toggle power, dealing minor toxic damage in a PBAoE around you. Any susceptible enemy caught in this power suffers a -def and -secondary effect debuff, while you gain a +secondary effect and +def buff. Your thoughts/feedback are welcomed! Thanks for reading!